Bending machines have a bending device comprising a bend die or matrix and a bend arm both able to turn around on an axis and being provided with co-operating counteracting members. These counteracting members clamp a section of a workpiece immediately after the section to be bent, according to a feeding direction of the workpiece in the bending machine. The workpiece is bent by causing both the matrix and the bend arm to move around the axis from an initial position to an end position. When a bending operation ends, the matrix is caused to return to the initial position.
In fixed radius bending machines such counteracting members comprise clamping jaws.
In order to allow workpieces to be bent into small radius curves and with various tilts, it should be desirable that a bending machine has a small size bending device. Further, it should be realized that the risk that certain bending operations cannot be performed, because they are hindered by parts of the bending device or of the rest of the bending machine, must be greatly reduced. Among such parts that would interfere with a bending operation there are both hoses of a hydraulic feeding circuit for cylinders situated on the bend arm, and wires of an electric circuit.